2009/20 Social dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa s Development

Transcription

1 Resolution 2009/20 Social dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa s Development The Economic and Social Council, Recalling the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995, 1 and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly, entitled World Summit for Social Development and beyond: achieving social development for all in a globalizing world, held in Geneva from 26 June to 1 July 2000, 2 Reaffirming the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000, 3 the United Nations Declaration on the New Partnership for Africa s Development of 16 September 2002, 4 General Assembly resolution 57/7 of 4 November 2002 on the final review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s and support for the New Partnership for Africa s Development, 5 Noting the conclusions of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Africa, held in Ouagadougou on 8 and 9 September 2004, Recognizing the commitments made in meeting the special needs of Africa at the 2005 World Summit, 6 and contained in the political declaration adopted on 22 September 2008 at the high-level meeting held at United Nations Headquarters to address Africa s development needs, 7 Remaining concerned that Africa is the only continent currently not on track to achieve any of the goals set out in the Millennium Declaration by 2015, and in this regard emphasizing that concerted efforts and continued support are required to fulfil the commitments to address the special needs of Africa, Expressing deep concern that attainment of the social development objectives may be hindered by the financial crisis, as well as challenges brought about by the ongoing food and energy crisis, Recognizing that capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and best practices are essential for the successful implementation of the New Partnership for Africa s Development, and recognizing also the need for continued support from the international community, Bearing in mind that African countries have primary responsibility for their own economic and social development, that the role of national policies and development strategies cannot be overemphasized and that their development efforts need to be supported by an enabling international 1 Report of the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 6-12 March 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.8), chap. I, resolution 1, annexes I and II. 2 General Assembly resolution S-24/2, annex. 3 See General Assembly resolution 55/2. 4 See General Assembly resolution 57/2. 5 A/57/304, annex. 6 See General Assembly resolution 60/1. 7 See General Assembly resolution 63/1.

2 economic environment, and in this regard recalling the support given by the International Conference on Financing for Development 8 to the New Partnership, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General; 9 2. Welcomes the progress made by the African countries in fulfilling their commitments in the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa s Development 5 to deepen democracy, human rights, good governance and sound economic management, and encourages African countries, with the participation of stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, to intensify their efforts in this regard by developing and strengthening institutions for governance and creating an environment conducive to attracting foreign direct investment for the development of the region; 3. Also welcomes the good progress that has been achieved in implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism, as reflected in particular by the number of countries that have signed up to participate in the Mechanism, the completion of the peer review process in some countries, the progress in implementing the recommendations of those reviews in some countries and the completion of the self-assessment process, the hosting of country support missions and the launching of the national preparatory process for the peer review in others, and urges African States that have not yet done so to join the peer review, as a matter of priority, and to strengthen the peer review process so as to ensure its efficient performance; 4. Welcomes in particular the organization of the first session of the African Union Conference of Ministers in charge of Social Development, and recalls in this regard the African Common Position on Social Integration and the Social Policy Framework for Africa, which has been endorsed by Africa s Heads of State; 5. Welcomes the efforts made by African countries and regional and subregional organizations, including the African Union, to mainstream a gender perspective and the empowerment of women in the implementation of the New Partnership, including the implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; 6. Emphasizes that the African Union and the regional economic communities have a critical role to play in the implementation of the New Partnership, and in this regard encourages African countries, with the assistance of their development partners, to increase and coordinate effectively their support for enhancing the capacities of these institutions and to promote regional cooperation and social and economic integration in Africa; 7. Also emphasizes that progress in the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa s Development depends also on a favourable national and international environment for Africa s growth and development, including measures to promote a policy environment conducive to private sector development and entrepreneurship; 8 See Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7), chap. I, resolution 1, annex. 9 E/CN.5/2009/3.

3 8. Further emphasizes that democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance and administration in all sectors of society, and effective participation by civil society, including non-governmental organizations, in particular community-based organizations, and the private sector are among the indispensable foundations for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development; 9. Emphasizes that the increasingly unacceptably high poverty levels and social exclusion faced by most African countries require a comprehensive approach to the development and implementation of social and economic policies, inter alia, to reduce poverty, to promote economic activity, growth and sustainable development to ensure employment creation and decent work for all, to promote education and health, and to enhance social inclusion, political stability, democracy and good governance and the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, so as to ensure the achievement of Africa s social and economic objectives; 10. Recognizes that while social development is primarily the responsibility of Governments, international cooperation and assistance are essential for the full achievement of that goal; 11. Also recognizes the contribution made by Member States to the implementation of the New Partnership in the context of South-South cooperation, and encourages the international community, including the international financial institutions, to support the efforts of African countries, including through trilateral cooperation; 12. Welcomes the various important initiatives of Africa s development partners in recent years, and in this regard, emphasizes the importance of coordination in such initiatives on Africa through ensuring effective implementation of existing commitments in the context of such initiatives; 13. Urges continuous support of measures to address the challenges of poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa, with a special emphasis on the Millennium Development Goals related to health, education, poverty and hunger, including, as appropriate, debt relief, improved market access, support for the private sector and entrepreneurship, enhanced official development assistance, increased foreign direct investment and transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, enhanced economic empowerment of women, the promotion of social protection systems and the conclusion of the round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization; 14. Recognizes that the implementation of the commitments made by Governments during the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty has fallen short of expectations and welcomes the proclamation of the Second Decade ( ) by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/205 of 19 December 2007 in order to support, in an efficient and coordinated manner, the internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication, including the Millennium Development Goals; 15. Encourages all development partners to implement the principles of aid effectiveness, as recalled in the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development 10 adopted by the Follow-up International Conference on 10 General Assembly resolution 63/239, annex.

4 Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus on 2 December 2008; 16. Recognizes the need for national Governments and the international community to make continued efforts to increase the flow of new and additional resources for financing for development from all sources, public and private, domestic and foreign, to support the development of African countries; 17. Welcomes the efforts by development partners to align their financial and technical support to Africa more closely with the priorities of the New Partnership, as reflected in national poverty reduction strategies or in similar strategies, and encourages development partners to increase their efforts in this regard; 18. Acknowledges the activities of the Bretton Woods institutions and the African Development Bank in African countries, and invites those institutions to continue their support for the implementation of the priorities and objectives of the New Partnership; 19. Notes the growing collaboration among the entities of the United Nations system in support of the New Partnership, and requests the Secretary- General to promote greater coherence in the work of the United Nations system in support of the New Partnership, on the basis of the agreed clusters; 20. Emphasizes the importance for the cluster working on communication, advocacy and outreach to continue to muster international support for the New Partnership and to urge the United Nations system to demonstrate more evidence of cross-sectoral synergies to promote a comprehensive approach regarding successive phases of planning and implementation of social development programmes in Africa; 21. Requests the United Nations system to continue to provide assistance to the African Union and the secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa s Development and to African countries in developing projects and programmes within the scope of the priorities of the New Partnership; 22. Invites the Secretary-General, as a follow-up to the 2005 World Summit, to urge the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to assist African countries in implementing quick-impact initiatives, based on their national development priorities and strategies, to enable them to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and in this respect, acknowledges recent commitments by some donor countries; 23. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take measures to strengthen the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, and requests the Office to collaborate with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat and to include the social dimensions of the New Partnership in its comprehensive reports to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session; 24. Requests the Commission for Social Development to discuss in its annual programme of work, those regional programmes that promote social development so as to enable all regions to share experiences and best practices, with the agreement of concerned countries, and in this regard, work programmes of the Commission should include priority areas of the New Partnership, as appropriate;

5 25. Decides that the Commission for Social Development should continue to give prominence to and raise awareness of the social dimensions of the New Partnership during its forty-eighth session; 26. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the social dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa s Development, to be tabled during the forty-eighth session of the Commission for Social Development, in collaboration with the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, while also taking into consideration General Assembly resolution 62/179 of 19 December 2007, entitled New Partnership for Africa s Development: progress in implementation and international support. 44th plenary meeting 30 July 2009